The hip area of a shadowy figure slammed against the pre-war stove causing the uncomfortable sound of grinding amongst the scuffing and groaning noises being made by the figures physically debating who will be the waste's next victim.

Renton took his eyes off of the raider scum for a millisecond to see Piper face down on the partially rotten wood floor. This raider scum snuck up on them and knocked Piper unconscious in an attempt to bring valuables back to his encampment nearby. Renton was going to have to fight this battle alone, and that fact terrified him to no end. He was always used to having Piper cover his six and in the wasteland that was the difference between survival and having your head stuck on a spike in the middle of Cambridge. Renton had always thought about what would happen if a band of raiders or a swarm of feral ghouls caught Piper. As much as they would never want that, the odds were always against them.

The raider Renton was battling with looked off to his right. Renton knew this couldn't be a good sign. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up with paranoia as he waited having a switchblade dug in the back of his neck, or worse.

"Hey, take the girl! I'll take care of this piece of shit!" The raider commanded to his comrade who wore the same type of gear as the one barking orders.

Without a reply the second raider did as she was told. Her bulky build made it easy for her to sling Piper over her shoulder fireman style before retreating. Renton had run out of time.

The remaining raider heavily retaliated, pushing Renton into a pre-war refrigerator causing the door to slam shut and reopen. Renton released the rifle from his tight grip and kicked the raider towards the pre-war stove directly across. When the raider's hip hit the stove once again he quickly began shooting in Renton's direction realizing he had won the war. Renton then took shelter in the pre-war refrigerator and luckily wasn't hit in the process. Renton counted the seconds it would take for the frag mine he planted in the raider's back pocket to explode simultaneously hoping the raider didn't take any steps closer.

The rifle clicks empty and the beeps from the mine indicate that the true victor was Renton.

"Oh fu-"

The loud bang that followed echoed in Renton's brain for a short time after he reappeared from his life saving container. It was interesting to see that a body of solid form could transform into something next to nothing. Renton grabbed the rifle that was blown under a nearby kitchen table, replaced the empty clip, pulled the bolt handle back, locking in a round and ran after Piper's abductor.

Outside was open, dark and dangerous. Rusty cars scattered the broken concrete and decimated guardrails. Renton scanned his surroundings in a complete three-sixty motion before wiping the sweat from his brow and repeated the process once again, this time he saw an uneven figure in the not to far distance bobbing up and down. He was sure he found Piper, and the next source of food for passing yao guais'.

Renton pursued the kidnapping raider, fear kept the knot in his throat while rage kept him focused and breathing properly.

The raider was no more than fifty yards away at this point. Renton readied the rifle and maintained a steady flow of air entering and leaving his lungs for optimum steadiness. He pulled the trigger once and removed the gun from his face. The figure he sought after went directly to the dirt. Keeping his wits about him, Renton scanned the area to make sure the sound didn't attract immediate attention, and cautiously proceeded to his destination.

Piper was sprawled on the stiff ground, still unconscious, but safe for the time being. The female raider crawled six feet away or so from Piper's body, and set her back against a large boulder. Upon Renton's arrival he could see the single shot blew out her right kneecap. Blood oozed from the damage, it didn't only stain the ground, but the air as well.

"Please don't kill me!" She cried. "I have a daughter, she's only 7, please don't take her mother away from her!" She continued, tears visibly forming in her eyes. "If it's caps you want then here. One hundred caps right here if you just let me go back to my daughter. Please?" She sobbed as her bottom lip quivered and her tears splashed against her metal chest piece.

Renton couldn't remember the last time someone begged for his or her life, especially a raider. She very well could have a daughter but it been too late for her to survive a wound like this given there was no settlement in immediate sight. Renton kneeled down to eye level with her. She placed the purse of caps to her right and reached out to Renton with a bloodied hand. He responded in kind. She knew she wasn't going to make it.

"Not everyone has what it takes to be a monster." Renton says to her calmly, ending with a small smile.

She may have been a raider, but he wasn't talking to the woman with a past of sin; Renton was talking to the side that kept her humanity, one that still held a child like fear of death. It was that fear that kept her human and when you lost that, you become a monster.

The female's grip became weak. Her hand slid from Renton's and landed peacefully by her side. Renton closed her eyelids with his clean left hand, and looked at the purse of caps she left behind. Caps were always useful and they were necessary for survival but he didn't want them.

Renton stood up and turned to his right to notice that Piper was watching from where she once laid. She walked over to him. His head was down and the rifle loosely gripped in the same hand used to pull the trigger.

"Are you okay, Ren?" She asked softly.

Renton shook his head silently as tears of his own began to touch down on the lenses of his glasses. Piper hugged him tightly. Renton dropped the rifle and began to sob into Piper's shoulders.

The next morning two raiders from the same encampment find the body of the female comrade in the same position she passed in.

"Hey, what's this?" The skinny raider asked the muscular one. He picked up a note that was attached to the caps purse.

"What does it say?" The muscular raider asked looking over the skinny one's shoulder.

"For my daughter." The skinny raider replied.

"She has a daughter?" Asked the muscular raider.

"Yeah she does. I think she's ten or something. I think she lives in Diamond City." The skinny one replied.

"Oh. Well if we go there we can bring back about eight cases of vodka to the camp before sundown." The muscular one said.

"You mean five cases for camp and we split the three between us, finder's fee and all." The skinny one suggested.

"Yeah, that's even better. Let's get a move on then." The muscular raider said.